Displacement, Separation, and Alienation: A Socio-Cultural Approach toMistranslated Signs!
Journal Title: International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention - Year 2018, Vol 7, Issue 5
Abstract
Thepresent paper looks at translated signs – ads in malls or in shops and selling stands, in construction sites, in roads and speedways…–froma sociocultural perspective. It argues as it downplays the humorous aspects of these translated signs that translation remains above all an act of communication between social and cultural groups. The translated signs examined in the present paper reveal the effects of displacement, separation, and alienation. They also validate the view that sociocultural approaches to translation reveal more about the movement of individuals and groups of individuals (subjects) than about the movement of texts (source and target languages or objects). Saudi Arabia hosts, like many Gulf countries and perhaps even more, millions and millions of foreign workers. These workers – not counting academics and skilled clerks – are not totally bilingual. Their mastery of both English and Arabic is rudimentary and is essentially geared towards “getting by” or “managing” in complex and fragmented contexts shaped by migration and acculturation.Language – be it source or target language – is, as a consequence, unconsciously toned or subdued to the point that its linguistic norms, variations, and conventions no longer exist. Those who translated the signs we examined appear to be foreigners or migrants. Their socio-cultural context of displacement resulted in what looks like separation and lack of integration. In their new host countries, they remain the same or unchanged. Indeed, being caught in the dilemma of their migration, they neither fully integrated in nor remained fully separated from the language of their host country.
Authors and Affiliations
Dr. Borni Mahmoud Lafi, Ziad Saad Mohamed Ali Alsulami
Keywords
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